MTO still stacking up Barrie bridge replacements along Hwy. 400

Cundles/Duckworth, Anne, Sunnidale, Essa, Dunlop, then Bayfield.

Those are the Barrie bridges replaced, and being replaced, along with underpasses to widen Highway 400 eventually to 10 lanes.

The replacement of the Highway 400/Dunlop Street bridge and reconstruction of the Highway 400/Dunlop Street interchange in Barrie is not far away.

In 2025, the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) will begin its bridge project, which will include the replacement of the Dunlop Street bridge and reconfiguration of the Dunlop Street/Highway 400 interchange.

The MTO’s project will take approximately four years to complete.

The project also includes pavement resurfacing of Highway 400 from south of Dunlop Street to south of Sunnidale Road, Highway 400 median barrier replacement, drainage improvements, culvert replacements and the installation of a noise wall in the vicinity of the Dunlop Street to Highway 400 northbound on-ramp. 

The MTO also plans to replace the Bayfield Street bridge over Highway 400, as well as its on- and off-ramps, starting in 2026. The project’s limits will stretch from Grove to Coulter streets, and widening Bayfield Street to seven lanes.

The MTO requires the city to build corresponding transportation improvements on Bayfield, from Coulter Street to Cundles Road.

Work on the Essa Road and Sunnidale Road bridges is also approaching the finish lines.

The MTO has said the replaced Sunnidale Road bridge will be two lanes, with its north side having a two-metre-wide sidewalk, which can accommodate any future bicycle lanes, should the City of Barrie choose to build them.

The MTO is currently rehabilitating the Highway 400 corridor from south of Sunnidale Road to north of Bayfield Street. Work includes replacing the existing Sunnidale Road underpass with a wider structure to accommodate the future widening of Highway 400 to a 10-lane cross section, sewer work and Highway 400 pavement rehabilitation, including Bayfield Street and interchange ramps.

The construction contract awarded was for $41.4 million, its costs are shared between the MTO and the city, and it’s scheduled to be complete by this year’s end.

The MTO is also constructing a new interchange at Essa Road and Highway 400. This work includes significant roadwork on Highway 400, between Harvie Road and Tiffin Street.

The project’s construction phase began in June 2022 and is anticipated to be completed by the fall of 2025.

The construction contract’s value for the Essa Road bridge replacement project is $105.4 million, and costs are shared between MTO and the City of Barrie.

Work being done includes replacing the Highway 400 bridge at Essa Road to accommodate the future widening of Highway 400 to a 10-lane cross-section, widening Essa Road from four to six lanes between the Bryne Drive/Ardagh Road intersection, at the west end, and the Fairview Road intersection, at the east end, with the addition of a multi-use pathway on the north side of Essa Road.

The Highway 400/Essa Road interchange is being reconstructed, including the addition of a dedicated ramp from eastbound Essa Road to southbound Highway 400, and a new bridge to allow the ramp to cross the commercial access road in the southwest quadrant of the interchange.

There’s also the replacement of traffic signals at the new ramp terminals, storm sewer replacement, culvert extension, stormwater management measures, pavement rehabilitation and safety upgrades.

The project’s construction phase began in June 2022 and is anticipated to be completed by the fall of 2025.